Quaker Thought And Living

This community hasn't had a post in more than a year, and as the mod, I'm a little embarrassed.

I realized after I saw how much interest there was in intro-to-Quakerism type posts that I hadn't the first idea how to write one. The web is already full of wonderful resources for those seeking a better understanding of Friends, and I didn't know how to get us rolling without re-inventing the wheel (badum-CLANG!).

So in lieu of a long Intro to Quakerism post, I thought I'd try a linkroll. These are resources that I've found helpful in my own seeking, and in discussing Quakerism with seekers.

Keep in mind that Quakerism is an extremely broad and diverse movement. Friends often come to discussions of Quakerism with a particular editorial perspective. Their statements and observations will reflect their personal beliefs and experiences.

What is the Religious Society of Friends?

Quakermaps.com's brief introduction to Quakerism: This is one of my favorite "intro to Quakerism" articles because it's concise. Friends have a tendency to describe Quakerism by starting with history. This is like telling someone how acorns develop when they've asked you to describe a tree. Quakermaps has put together a short but comprehensive overview of what the Society of Friends looks like today.

The Quaker Information Center: The Earlham School of Religion maintains this project as an online resource for Friends and Seekers. There's a lot of great stuff here, laid out in an easy-to-navigate FAQ format.

Wikipedia: At the time of this writing, the Wikipedia entry on The Society of Friends is fairly comprehensive, but includes a lot of information that won't be useful to someone looking for just a basic snapshot of modern Friends. The sections titled Beliefs, Worship, Rights of Passage, and Decision Making are probably the best places to start.

Where Can I Find Quakers Near Me?

QuakerMaps.Com: This site uses Google Maps to show the locations of Quaker Meetings and organizations. It's still in beta, but because it aims to include Friends from across the spectrum of Friends, it's already one of the most comprehensive resources out there.

QuakerFinder.org: This is a project of Friends General Conference. It focuses primarily on FGC-affiliated Meetings, which tend to be liberal and unprogrammed (and North-American).

Quaker.org.uk/: This is a resource for Friends in the UK. There's a search bar on the front page to find a Meeting near you. (thanks, kindjourneys!)

QuakerQuaker: QuakerQuaker bills itself as an "online community of Quaker bloggers, video producers, photographers and readers." They welcome all Friends and seekers with an interest in "classic Quaker understandings of theology and practice."

Quaker.org.uk is the website for Quakers in the UK, and here is the page on the site where UK people can request a free information pack. This is their general Introducing Quakers page.

I'm a Quaker Pagan myself, and Quaker Pagan Reflections is an especially good blog written by Quaker Pagans in the US. (There are two other Quaker Pagan blogs I could have linked to, but that's probably the best one for beginners to the concept.)